Judgment regarding the fatal shooting of a soldier at the training ground in Szczecin

The verdict was handed down on Tuesday, September 8, in the District Court in Szczecin. Tomasz F., Stanisław H.'s assistant, was sentenced to one year and three months in prison.

They came to shoot wild boars, they didn't have permission

According to the prosecutor's office, in November 2023 the men entered the Krzekowo Tactical Exercise Belt in order to catch wild boars. None of them had the required permission to do so.

Stanisław H., thinking he was aiming at an animal, fired a single shot from a hunting weapon. One of the soldiers taking part in the exercises was hit.

Both men then drove away abruptly towards the entrance gate to the Krzekowo Tactical Exercise Area.

The soldier who was shot died

The other participants of the military exercise, seeing the soldier lying on the ground with a neck wound, gave him first aid, informed the officer on duty and called an ambulance. Resuscitation was unsuccessful and the shot soldier died.

Stanisław H. explained during the trial that he thought it was an animal, probably a raccoon.

Judge Monika Orzechowska referred to these words when justifying the judgment.

You have to know what you're shooting at. Apart from everything else - I'm going after wild boars and I'm shooting at a raccoon? They didn't check what happened; to get off a few dozen meters away, walk up and look around, it really takes five minutes. They didn't do it. They quickly drove away, explaining that the hunt was over and there was no point in checking. In such an arrangement, it is unclear why they called the security guard to let them into the shooting range and then went around the shooting range. It was as if they had already prepared such a line of defense, knowing that something had happened, she added.

She also indicated that when leaving the shooting range, the men saw soldiers standing at the gate. They saw their friend's wound and the rescue operation.

I don't believe that very young people couldn't see what had happened, that they were in shock. They must have been terrified. I don't believe that the defendants didn't see it, added Orzechowska.

The defense lawyers wanted an acquittal

Prosecutor Capt. Kamil Zalewski from the Military Affairs Department of the Szczecin-Niebuszewo District Prosecutor's Office announced that the verdict will be analyzed within seven days and only then will a decision on its assessment be made. The prosecutor's office demanded a total sentence of three years' imprisonment for the hunter Stanisław H..

Attorney Krzysztof Tumielewicz, defender of Tomasz F., demanded the acquittal of his client and does not rule out filing an appeal against the verdict.

The defendants' behavior after the incident indicated that they did not know what happened there. Maybe in hindsight it was fair to say that you could have gotten out and checked it out. However, according to the defense, there are absolutely no grounds to claim that they could have guessed that they had fired a shot at a person. The terrain was shaped like this, it was night, it was dark, cold and I think they might not have known. They did not leave the scene of the incident, they reported to security and drove to a nearby facility - among others. argued the attorney. Tumielewicz.

The judgment is not final.